How Do I Register An Official WeChat Account As A Non-Chinese Business?

How Do I Register An Official WeChat Account As A Non-Chinese Business?

Welcome to the second in our series of articles on the mighty WeChat. There are so many useful things about this app that we’ll be covering a lot ground on the platform that has taken China by storm, and is now attracting more and more attention globally. If you need an introduction to the platform then head for our introductory article on why you should consider WeChat for business.

As with many things Chinese, there is a firm dividing line between how Chinese and non-Chinese operations are dealt with. Here’s our guide to help you along the way….

Applying For An Official WeChat Account As A Non-Chinese Business

Currently the process for registering is a little unclear. If you want to register for an official WeChat account go to:

This is the biggest decision you need to make when applying when applying for your official WeChat account as a non-Chinese business

Service Account:

Access advanced WeChat public platform features

4 broadcasts per month. Broadcasts are received from the business as a contact

Business has a 48 hour window to reply to user messages

Push notifications

Custom menus for all service accounts

Payments (API) supported for all verified accounts

Subscription Account:

Better for businesses that want to put out content on a more regular basis

No Push notifications

Business has a 48 hour window to reply to user messages

Businesses must be verified and use WeChat API. No customisation

No support for payments

Remember to mention whether or not you wish to have access to WeChat’s advanced features and developer tools. If it’s not in your proposal, it will more than likely be left out.

Business credentials for validation of the account are extremely important. These should include a business phone number, business e-mail address, and some type of documentation to prove genuine existence of the company ( e.g. a copy of a tax form or a company registration document).

The more documents you can send, the better. Give copies of anything that further validates the existence of the business- even send business cards!

One of the problems for non-Chinese registered companies is that WeChat hasn’t given any public guidelines for applications.

Judging from WeChats behaviour until now, we would predict that the platform is seeking to be selective with handing out applications to companies that are more likely to invest in innovation in the development of their campaigns, as well as promoting their WeChat presence in other areas. We would expect them to favour larger companies who are perceived to have marketing that would in effect promote WeChat as a safe and trustworthy platform, so bear that in mind when making your application. After your account is approved, WeChat will send your WeChat ID and password, which you will need to log-in at: admin.wechat.com
You can also check the progress of your application using your email address and application number here.

There have been a lot of reports of slow responses from WeChat when replying to applications. You can follow up on your application up by e-mailing: bd@wechat.com

Alternatively, try to contact a WeChat representative for your country ( a quick Google search should do the trick!).

Not All Accounts Are Created Equal

It’s important to note that:

Non-Chinese WeChat users have access to Both Chinese and Non-Chinese official accounts.

Chinese WeChat users only have access Chinese registered accounts.

Still Have Any Questions?

If you’re in need of some advice on how WeChat is being used, then keep following this series of articles as we’ll be delving into all areas of the platforms benefits and uses. Alternatively, post a comment or send us your questions to use here at Eggplant Digital.

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22 thoughts on “How Do I Register An Official WeChat Account As A Non-Chinese Business?”

Hi Jenny, if you have registered an official company account, then you will be able to add up to 4 account managers, who are able to post articles or answer messages, but don’t have the full administrator access.

I’ve just created a Wechat account for my business. As I’m from Perú (South America), I would like to know what should I put on contact number is my country does not appear on the list? Also I would like to know if it is possible to attach any documents needed in our native language (spanish)?

Hello, We checked on our accounts and a WeChat personal account should have Peru in the country list, but a WeChat public account setting has no need to choose a county. For the documents, you should be able copy and paste the document content and then post, but not necessarily attach for people to view/download. I hope that helps!

I would like to open a Wechat service account in China for promoting a Business School from Sweden, but after doing research I realized that without a Chinese company or a Wfoe I cannot do it. Do you offer this service, just to open a Service account and then let us manage it (I have a Chinese student who will help me here)

And thank you for this article! I think however that it’s very important to outline that Non-Chinese companies that apply for an Official Wechat account via apply.wechat.com (which is the International Wechat platform) won’t practically have any visibility on the Chinese market, because their Official Wechat accounts won’t be accessible by users of the Chinese version of the application. And the vast majority of Chinese use the Chinese version of Wechat.

You would register an Official Account in the normal way for a Chinese business, then as the administrator of the account you can set the bottom menu in English (but there is a word length limitation) and the Official Account name/description can also be written in English. There are elements in the account such as the “Read More” button that display based on the user’s phone language.

Unfortunately though the WeChat Official Account Dashboard (for Chinese accounts) is in Chinese only.

Hi ! I know the limitation that Chinese WeChat users only have access Chinese registered accounts. But I found some non-Chinese official accounts, like Vodafone NZ and Jurlique AU (registered overseas) , can be accessed by Chinese users.

Yes it is an interesting point. It seems the rules can be bent if you are bigger brand or company that is spending a certain amount on advertisement, or have significant partnerships in China. It’s the grey area 🙂

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